Budapest

Currently we are in Budapest to soon commence our river cruise to Amsterdam after flying in from Singapore. We noticed the expansion in Singapore since last there in 1983 whose population is now about the same as Victoria. The expansion has been up (high rise) since the small island land mass means it only takes you 40 minutes to drive from one end to the other. Getting around is easy with an excellent rail and bus system costing only $2 a day.The locals were friendly with mainly Chinese complemented with Malay and Indian influences to reflect traditional Asian values which tend to be more rules based than western systems. Even so a young man flashed by as we were walking under a bypass oblivious to the large $1,000 fine intended for those who failed to dismount.We enjoyed our stay to experience the best of the old and new with a river cruise and to view the incredible display at the Asian Cultural Museum.

Today we visited Budapest which is a city of 2 million and the capital of Hungary. In reality it is an amalgamation of 3 older cities with the not so blue Danube separating distinct cultural areas.The oldest city was Obuda built on the site once occupied by the Roman town of Aquinicum and boasts 123 hot springs. The Danube separates Pest - the largest of the three which is medieval in character with a fortress wall and houses the main business centre located on the eastern bank. Budda is located on the western bank built after the Mongol invasion in 1241.Our next port is Vienna